CAT/C/KAZ/CO/3 (e) Ensure that independent monitoring bodies referred to in paragraph 13 above regularly monitor, have access to and visit all places of detention; (f) Boost the use of alternatives to incarceration, taking into account the provisions of the United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for Non-custodial Measures (the Tokyo Rules); (g) Undertake an independent review of the conditions of confinement in which Aron Atabek is being held and ensure that no person is subjected to solitary confinement or denied necessary medical care for exercising the right to freedom of expression. Inter-prisoner violence and self-mutilation 18. The Committee is concerned at reports that the penitentiary system is conceived in a punitive way, not with the aim of the rehabilitation and reintegration of offenders and that it is run in a military manner, with the use of troops from the Ministry of Internal Affairs wearing masks and shields to maintain security. It is also concerned at the incidence of inter-prisoner violence in the penal correctional system and is alarmed at reports of the existence of a hierarchy among prisoners whereby convicts pressure fellow inmates, including through the use of rape, with the consent and sometimes active approval and solicitation of prison administrations, which results in violence and discrimination. It is concerned that, in addition to physical abuse, inmates are threatened with additional criminal charges which would prolong their prison terms. The Committee is gravely concerned at incidents of self-mutilation by prisoners in order to draw public attention to their treatment. It is also concerned at the number of deaths in custody, including suicides (arts. 2, 11–13 and 16). The State party should take measures to: (a) Reform the penal correctional system with the general aim of rehabilitation and reintegration of offenders and de-militarize the way it is managed; (b) Issue a clear warning that any person committing acts of violence or intimidation or who is otherwise complicit or participating in them will be held responsible before the law for such acts and subject to penalties proportional with the gravity of the crime; (c) Enhance steps to reduce inter-prisoner violence, including that resulting from the active approval and solicitation of prison officials, by launching prompt, impartial, thorough and effective investigations into all allegations of such incidents, and prosecute and punish those responsible; (d) Establish an independent mechanism to deal freely and independently with any complaints of inmates about their treatment and conditions of detention, provide effective follow-up to such complaints for the purpose of remedial action and ensure that inmates who file complaints are not subjected to reprisals. Ensure that if any cases of reprisals arise, an investigation will be launched, the victims provided with protection and the perpetrators sanctioned; (e) Reduce overcrowding, improve prison management and the prisoner/staff ratio, train prison staff and medical personnel on communication with and managing of inmates and on detecting signs of vulnerability and strengthen the monitoring and management of vulnerable prisoners; (f) Ensure that all cases of deaths in custody are investigated promptly, thoroughly, effectively and impartially and that persons suspected of having committed acts of torture, physical or psychological ill-treatment and wilful 10